Costa Coffee transforms store staffing and increases efficiency by 65% with AI-powered UKG technology
Costa Coffee has partnered with UKG, to enhance store staffing and long-term labour decisions using AI-powered workforce planning and forecasting solutions.
Costa Coffee, with 1,600 locations across the UK, were looking to align labor with demand and optimise staffing levels, especially during busy periods like the holiday season. The deployment of UKG Strategic Workforce Planning resulted in a nearly 50% increase in staffing efficiency during Christmas and a 65% improvement immediately afterward.
UKG is a leading provider of HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions for all people.
Headquartered in Buckinghamshire, Costa Coffee’s corporate-owned locations employ thousands of full-, part-time, and fixed-term workers across the U.K.
“The results we’ve experienced with UKG are tremendous,” said Katie Little, labour operations manager at Costa Coffee. “Store managers can accurately plan their staffing needs well in advance and make data-driven decisions, so our stores always have the right people with the right skills in the right place. This not only helps keep customers happy but ensures we have the ideal mix of employees which creates a better experience for them, all while keeping us on budget.”
The move to the AI solution marks a significant transformation for the retailer as managers previously relied on spreadsheets and estimated, based on budget, the number of workers they would need at each location. This often led to under- or overstaffing of stores, resulting in overtime for some workers and the need to move others from one store to another to cover shifts. The problem was exacerbated during the Christmas season — one of Costa Coffee’s busiest times of the year — when having the right people in place to serve customers is essential.
“It was an inexact science and not an efficient way to operate. Because we didn’t have access to labour data in real time or the ability to properly forecast our needs, we were always planning ahead with outdated information,” said Matt Smith, retail operations standards manager at Costa Coffee. “We also didn’t have line-of-sight into employees’ outstanding vacation time, so we ended up understaffed before the Christmas holiday — because of all the vacation time our people were taking at the end of the year — and then overstaffed right after. It was very painful for both store managers and employees, cost us money, and we knew we needed to make a change.”
The inflection point came during the 2021 holiday season when Costa Coffee went live with UKG Strategic Workforce Planning as its centralised solution for labour budgeting, recruitment planning, and productivity. Leveraging workforce management information and labour analytics from each store location, the coffee giant more precisely forecasted its 2022 holiday staffing needs, allowing it to optimise and energise its existing workforce while tracking toward its budget.
“At one point, we had more than 300 different contract types for our workers. UKG helped us standardise that process and we’ve seen the total number of contracts decrease substantially,” said Little. “Because we can more precisely plan staffing needs months in advance, we can take better care of our people by offering more hours to our full- and part-time employees and hiring fewer fixed-term workers. This cuts down on recruitment costs and helps us fill gaps to make timely hires when and where they are needed.”
Another important benefit from its partnership with UKG was the overall impact on store managers.
“Managers are now empowered to run their business effectively and efficiently. With labour data available at a glance, our store managers can make smarter staffing decisions in a quicker manner and are working less overtime themselves,” said Little. “We also know staffing has a significant impact on customer satisfaction, and emerging technology like UKG will only strengthen our ability to provide an exceptional customer experience.”
“AI-powered technology exists to make life easier for employers and help them take better care of their people,” said Hugo Sarrazin, chief product and technology officer at UKG. “While this is true for any industry, it’s particularly relevant to environments such as retail that continue to struggle with staffing in this tight labour market. With UKG Strategic Workforce Planning, organisations can make intelligent business decisions that not only create great workplace experiences and help their people thrive, but have a positive, trickle-down effect on customer loyalty which ultimately impacts their bottom line.”
